Antifreeze heater



Oct. 6, 1953 M. A. SPURLIN 2,654,826

ANTIFREEZE HEATER Filed Aug. 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 42 INVENTOR. 27202226 45pzarzz'n,

ATTD RN EYS Filed Aug. 14, 1951 v M. A. SPURLIN ANTIFREEZE HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

ATTD RN EYE Patented Oct. 6, 1953 PATENT orrrce ANTIFREEZE HEATER'L Marcus -A..Spurlin, San Francisco, Calif. Application August *14, 1951, Serial No. 24-1,765 3,0laimsli. (Cl. .219-.39);

also 'be- :USQdJfOI heatingrtheccabuorz body 'of the vehicle;- ornvhich may; be: used ifor heating; parts"- ofrailroad switchesatov melt-1 snow and'zice away? from the switch elements.

The purpose of this inventioniisrto: provide-an and thelike wherein antifreeze-isiused-as'thaheatz conveying-agent so that itherheat'conveying means; will. not:freeze aticomparatively lowltemperaturesi In :the conventional heatingrsystem where was changing; elements the? waterrfreezesi andzcausess breaks: in the parts when -the.-sy stem: is; -.inopera+ tive. With this: thought inumind: this; invenz tion .contemplatessthe'use-"of1a suitable-antifreeze,

Such assalcohola inia: heating; systemuw-ithrmeans;

for circulating and heating the antifreeze;

The .object ofthis. inventioni is-therefore, .to provide. means i for assembling; an independent-z heating unit whereby thefluid is heated and circu-- lated through: as. coil; or: elements without danger of the fluid freezing when 'th'e system is inoperative.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide an independent heating'systemfor-preheating 'oil coil-, .withielectri'c heatingmea-ns forrheatingzathei fluid-.aszit passes through: theatube orrcoilzandwith; the; operating: elementss provided: with: a:- tim'er and .thermostati for." controlling the tern-= peratu-re of theeantifreezer Other features and advantages of thelinven'v tiOII': will; appear from the: followingqdescription taken imconnection :with' the; drawingsrwherein:

Figure-:1 21S azviewv showing:aalongitudinalsece 1 tion through :theiorward partzof azmotor vehicle with parts brokerna-wayg andaotherrpa-rts omitted; andfil'lustratingga: heating-g coil amxthe crank case: of! the ;engine=-of; theuvehicle; an auxiliaryvheater positioned-in thec -forwardf-part'oirthesvehicle and? independent: heating system: forrmotor'vehicles =1 a= motordriven pumpzandx also: awtimer in: com I nection'. with; the coil circulating-,1, and heating: elements.

Figure 21'is: a sectional plan;taken on line 9 Ze-Zizofz-Fig;; lishowingq ahcoilwinstalledfinarbase ter=;is:circulated .throughvcoils;orrotherrheat: eX-F offaicran'k case of:a motorrvehicleengine;

Figure-3J5 :azdiagrammatic view-. -illustrating. a: typical :wiring-r diagram .forra heating-v system 2: off thsztypez.

Figure 4 illustrates amodification wherein the? i heatingsystem sisrappliedratozztherswi-tch :of arrailroad track?v and: in: which parts of the: track; are:= brokenv away? Figure 5 is a cross sectionathroughza'irail ashow ing anzantifreeze .tubeemountedion'thezwebithereother heat. exchanging; 01:

Figures: 6: is: a .similarr t0) that showrr in"v Fig: 4:: illustratingra typical arrangement; of the antifreeze: heatngr; systeim.

Referring; now: to the: drawings wherein:- like in the crankaca-sexofzwmotor vehicleengine that 355 referencescharacterstdenote-zcorresponding parts operates-independent of the battery and circulating pumpsof the vehicle.

Another. object of the inventionris togprovide an. independent fluid heating. and circulating systemiforlmotor vehicles in.which .the partsira-re 40;;

permanently mounted in .the" vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved heating unit using antifreeze as a heat conveying agent that may be used for preventing freezing of ice and snow on railroad 5 switch elements.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved heating system using antifreeze as a heat conveying and transmitting agent which is of a comparatively simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a heat exchanger in the form of a tube or coil with a motor driven pump for circulating fluid through the tube or the improvediheating systen'rofithis tinvention in= i cludesa pipeccoit Ht, an electric heatera! I at-pumpw I2, a motor I3 for operating the pumpyaetimer? Ihancl an" auxiliary-heater] I50.

Witli' thee partsa arrangediin this: manner one: endiaofrthezcoil I 0: issconnectedaby azztu-ber I lie-with; thesdischarge of: theepump I21 anduthesopposite end of the coil is connected by a tube IT to one end of the electric heater I I, the opposite side of the heater being connected by a tube I8 to the heater I5, and the opposite side of the heater [5 being connected by the tube I9 to the pump I2. By this means antifreeze is heated by the electric heating element in the heater II and circulated through the heater [5 and coil I0 whereby the oil of the engine may be preheated in cold weather to facilitate starting.

With the parts arranged in this manner the timer I4 is set so that at a predetermined period of time, before use of the vehicle is desired, the

system starts operating and the oil in the crank case of the engine is heated to normal operating temperature.

With the parts arranged as illustrated in the diagram shown in Fig. 3, the timer I4 is set to close the circuit at a predetermined time whereby a circuit is completed from the battery 20, one side of which is connected to a ground 2!, through a wire 22 and a wire 23, to a switch 24 which is closed, and from the switch by a wire 25, a contact arm 26, a wire 21, a thermostat 28 and a wire 29, to one side of the electric heating coil 39, the opposite end of which is connected to a ground 3|. At the same time current from the wire 29 passes through a wire 32 to a motor of the pump [2, the opposite side of which is connected by wires 33 and 34 to a ground 35.

By this means antifreeze is circulated over the electric heating element 30 in the heater II and through the coil In in the crank case whereby the oil is heated until the temperature thereof reaches a predetermined degree, at which time the thermostat 28 opens, breaking the circuit to the motor driven pump and heating element.

The system is provided with a safety switch including a thermostat 36 which is normally open at low temperatures and when the temperature of the antifreeze reaches a predetermined degree the switch 36 closes completing a circuit from the battery 20 through wires 31 and 38 to a solenoid 39 of a relay which draws the contact arm 26 downwardly breaking the circuit between the wires 25 and 21. The opposite terminal of the solenoid 39 is connected to a ground by a wire 49.

As the contact 26 is drawn downwardly by the solenoid 39 a circuit is completed by wires 4| and 42 to the ignition switch of the vehicle to a vacumn switch from the intake manifold as indicated by the numeral 43 and to the starter 44, the opposite terminal of which is connected to a ground by a wire 45.

With this arrangement of the ignition and starter circuits it is impossible to start the vehicle until the temperature of the oil reaches a predetermined degree.

The heater l5 may be located at any suitable point in the vehicle body where a plurality of heaters may be used, or the tubes through which the antifreeze travels may extend around the inside of the body of the vehicle and may also extend around the rim of the windshield thereof.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4 the coil I is replaced with a continuous tube 46 that extends from a pump 41 to a heater 48 and a reservoir 49.

In this design current is supplied to the motor 50 of the pump 41 through wires and 52 and the temperature is controlled by a thermostat 53. With the parts arranged in this manner the tube 46 may be extended along the frog, point, rails, as indicated by the numerals 54, or other parts of the track and with the tubes secured to the webs of the rails or other parts by clamps 55 the rails may be heated continuously, eliminating the possibility of snow, ice, and the like accumulating on the switch.

In the design illustrated in Fig. 6 a separate and independent unit is illustrated that is adapted to be used for various purposes, and in this unit the coil 56 is connected to a pump 51 which is driven by a motor 58 and the tube from the coil extends through a reservoir 59 and a heater '60.

With this arrangement current is supplied to the parts by wires 61 and 62 and a thermostat 63 is provided in the circuit for controlling the temperature of the parts heated by the antifreeze, or the like.

It will be understood that the systems of the difierent arrangements are each provided with a coil, heater, pump, thermostat and a reservoir or storage container and with antifreeze such as alcohol, or a suitable fluid provided in the system it may be operated to heat the oil of a motor vehicle crank case, the cab or interior of a motor vehicle body, a railway switch or part of the track and may also be used for other purposes.

It will be understood that other modifications may be made in the design and arrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heating unit, the combination which comprises a coil having antifreeze therein, a pump connected to the coil for circulating the antifreeze through the coil, a heater connected to the coil for heating the antifreeze, a thermostat positioned adjacent to the coil, a timer, and a circuit connecting the timer, thermostat heater and motor of the pump to a battery to provide an independent heating system.

2. A heating unit as described in claim 1 having a storage chamber for the fluid connected to the coil.

3. A heating unit as described in claim 1 in which the coil is positioned in the crank cas of a motor vehicle and in which an auxiliary heater is provided in the body of the vehicle.

MARCUS A. SPURLIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,463,510 Jones July 31, 1923 1,608,537 Swanberg Nov. 30, 1926 1,825,627 Bowen Sept. 29, 1931 1,861,809 McCaleb June '7, 1932 2,122,585 Pollack et a1 July 5, 1938 

